New Hall Of Fame Exhibit Showcases Japanese Baseball

For more than a century, baseball has built a bridge between the vastly-different cultures of Japan and the United States.

The Baseball Hall of Fame will salute that linkage with the opening of Yakyu Baseball, a detailed exhibit that coincides with the induction of Ichiro Suzuki on July 27.

Known simply as Ichiro, he is part of a five-man Class of 2025 that also includes CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner, Dick Allen, and Dave Parker.

He is also the only man installed in both the U.S. and Japanese baseball Halls of Fame.

‘Yakyu’ Means Baseball

Yakyu Baseball, which covers 1,800 square feet of exhibit space, features the history of Japanese teams touring America, U.S. teams touring Japan, American-born players who played in the Japanese majors, and Japanese-born players who played in the United States.

The exhibit contains artifacts, photographs, and videos that trace the American-Japanese baseball experience.

That experience was highlighted by Ichiro, not only the first position player from Japan to reach the U.S. majors but also the first elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. He fell just one vote shy of unanimous selection.

Murakami Was First

The newest Cooperstown exhibit recalls pitcher Masanori Murakami, who became the first Japanese player in the American major leagues in 1964, and Hideo Nomo, who won Rookie of the Year honors and later pitched no-hitters in both leagues.

Among U.S. stars who played in Japan were Don Newcombe, a starting pitcher instrumental in the only world championship won by the Brooklyn Dodgers, and Larry Doby, the first black player in the American League.

Even Babe Ruth played in Japan, leading a 1934 U.S. “All-Star” team that also included light-hitting but clever catcher Moe Berg, whose ability to speak Japanese and talk his way into military installations with a hidden camera later helped Gen. Jimmie Doolittle bomb Tokyo during World War 2.

Slugging Sadaharu

The history of Japanese baseball also includes Sadaharu Oh, who hit more home runs than any professional player on the planet. Although Oh lost a specially-arranged Home Run Derby to Hank Aaron after the 1974 season, he finished his career with 868 home runs – far more than U.S. record-holder Barry Bonds (762).

The new Yakyu exhibit reveals that the first Japanese team – from Waseda University – came to the U.S. in 1905, before the advent of the airplane and two years before the first U.S. team went the other way.

Also included are differing styles of play, fan behavior, equipment, ballparks, and people who shaped the shared culture of the game.

Initially announced at news conferences in New York, Los Angeles, and Tokyo, Yakyu Baseball was launched with the cooperation of Guggenheim Partners, Peter O’Malley, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, and the presidents of both Halls of Fame, Josh Rawitch (U.S.) and Masanobu Shoji (Japan).

Also on the promotional path is Bobby Valentine, who not only managed the New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, and Texas Rangers but Japan’s Chiba Lotte Marines.

Current Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo, another exhibit ambassador, played for the Yakult Swallows in the Japanese majors.

Ichiro’s contributions have yet to be matched; in 2001, his first year with the Seattle Mariners, he joined Fred Lynn as the only men to win Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year honors in the same season.

Also that season, Ichiro won the first of 10 consecutive Gold Gloves – a feat accomplished by only four other outfielders – and hit .350 with 242 hits and 56 stolen bases, leading the American League in all three departments. Three years later, he finished with a record 262 hits while winning his second batting crown (a career-peak .372). Between Japan and the U.S., he had 4,367 hits, a world record.

Shohei Showed ‘Em

Of the many Japanese players who followed him, the best has been two-way star Shohei Ohtani, winner of three MVP awards, including two in a row since joining the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent. In 2024, he became the first player to hit at least 50 home runs and steal at least 50 bases in the same season.

Ohtani was named Most Valuable Player of the last World Baseball Classic after striking out Mike Trout for the final out.

The Dodgers have two other Japanese pitchers in Yoshinobu Yamamoto, like Ohtani a 2025 All-Star, and rookie Roki Sasaki.

The Baseball Hall of Fame attracts more than 250,000 visitors a year, many of them during Induction Weekend in late July. Located in the tiny Central New York hamlet of Cooperstown, it is open every day of the year except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.